The best music you're not listening to.™ Reviews of lost classics and obscure titles. Unheralded bands and songwriters. New bands deserving of greater attention. The site for the music omnivore. It's all here, on the Ripple Effect

Pages

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Small Stone Records – Double Take

Over two years ago we featured a “Double
Take” review of two records, both residing in Small Stone Records manor.
The label has undergone some turmoil since then;
including a flooded out basement, some turnover with bands, but what remains is
the fact that the bands who call Small Stone home are still ridiculously good.
After pre-ordering both these fantastic records on vinyl, I figure I’d bring
the feature back. What remains the same is the rawk, what is different is the
vinyl are being pressed via Cargo Records in Germany and take the form as an
import to the US customers with only 50 available in the US store. Just a fair
warning, I still haven’t received either of my pre-orders despite the records
being released. Prior SS releases usually showed up on time, if not prior to
release for pre-order customers. Minor gripe, but I’m confident the packages
will get here eventually and the price remains constant as the US distribution
of past.

Take
1:

Captain
Crimson – Remind

Although that couch looks rather uncomfortable it
reminds us of the past, the present and the future, namely of rock and roll in
the context of this article. Captain Crimson ensures no matter what you rest
your weary soul upon the new album sweeps you into a state of comfort
popularized by the Swedish retro stoner rawk style. Yes, Captain Crimson are
from Sweden as well and prove the water over there does in fact contain
minerals fortifying the ability to crank out consistently heavy ass grooves,
hot and steamy choruses, and carpet burning bass lines. What impressed me most
with the record is how consistently pleasing each song plays through, no filler all killer they say.
Intricate riffs such as the opening blaze of ‘Black Rose’, to the dreamy
psych-driven ballad of ‘Money’ Remind, reminds us of all states of mind,
particularly carrying us away to a more pleasant space and time. The more this
album plays the better it gets. Blues licks drip from the retro curtains as the
cuckoo riffs clock your walls with nostalgia and vocal harmonies blanket the
airwaves like Grandma’s quilt on a foggy morning. Don’t forget the songs
structure which paints a pattern of symmetry rivaled by none other than the
album cover itself. You must pick it up as on the Small Stone scale Captain Crimson
may very well weigh in as the heaviest most deluxe record on the Small Stone
shelf in years. Not an immediate grabber, Remind takes its sweet time to slowly
infect the listener being able to pull the attention in varied states of mind.
Some records only sound good in certain moods. Remind is so powerful it will
change your mood from its current state to a state of bewilderment, surely a
great record for a weekend gathering, poker night out, early morning highway
blaster, or even living room background tunes. Speaking of living room, my
flooring needs a retroactive makeover, and the clock is ticking. Come on guys,
ship me my vinyl already! I’m dying.

Take
2:

Långfinger
- Crossyears

Making their Small Stone debut is the band I just discovered
via this pre-order. Långfinger rock the power trio format and come at us from
Gothenburg, Sweden which by definition means they bring a heavy retro blues to
the game. They’ve been together since they were teens and Crossyears is their 3rd
full length album. I was so intrigued, not only by the preview track available
that I had to scope out their past discography which fellow revolutionaries
gave high recommendations for. I found a killer complete
vinyl set available from the band which is always hard to pass up as a
record collector and music addict. It’s sitting on my shelf now waiting for
Crossyears to find its way home, and boy or boy is it cool. Crossyears
maintains the full tilt retro boogie of the early material on their Small Stone
showcase. The vocals remain charismatic, utilizing a faintly reverb induced
melody crackling with spiritual blues. The riffs are catchy, the songs are
dynamic and flow well throughout ranging from 70’s arena rock to blistering
heavy blues riddled with solos and packed with rhythmic groove. They remind me
a bit of The Who in parts with a more
modern stoner edge instrumentally at least. The vocals are damn catchy as are
the chorus lines and rhythm section to die for. Anthem after anthem are
delivered, averaging around that 3-5 minute classic song length mark for 10
solid songs, with the exception of the blues based scorcher ‘Atlas’ melting the
listener for over 7-minutes directly at the midway mark of the album. Acting as
a breather between the high energy first half of the record, ‘Atlas’ slow burns
Pink Floydian space rock into its retro boogie atmosphere with a healthy dose
of the organ, grandiose opening guitar leads and bluesy vocal croonage slowly
and elegantly building back and forth between angelic melodies to hot and heady
rawk n roll. The album is a stone cold modern classic after it sinks in and
demonstrates Långfinger are at the top of their game and are in no position of
giving up. Let’s hope the trend continues and Small Stone keeps up the taste
they’re known for giving us these random treats every now and then.

Although Small Stone has appeared to struggle in recent
times with perhaps lack of marketing or lost motivation these two records prove
that they are still indeed the pioneers and true icons in the heavy underground
stoner-rawk scene. You can stream both records as well as all the other
releases up at the Small Stone bandcamp page and hurry up if you want to grab a
vinyl edition, they won’t likely be repressed anytime soon.I can attest they are always sexy as fuck!

No comments:

Digital Ripple Music Releases Available at Bandcamp!

GET REVIEWED! CONTACT THE RIPPLE

If you're in a band or the industry and you'd like your music to reach a larger audience, send it to us for a review. Contact tseverin@aol.com or send your stuff to The Ripple Effect, 5801 Norris Canyon Road #200, San Ramon, Ca 94583.

LISTEN TO THE RIPPLE EFFECT RADIO SHOW - LIVE AND PODCASTS!

Catch the best music you're not listening to on the Ripple Effect. Now every other week on internet radio. Wednesday night 8-10 pm Ripple (pacific) time. Listen live or download free podcasts! Hit button for details.